Eternal Gray
Encyclopedia
Eternal Gray is a technical death metal
band originating from Tel Aviv
, Israel
. The band is known as one of the most respected bands in the Israeli heavy metal
scene, and has gathered a very positive feedback abroad.
" band.
In 2002, the band flew to Sweden
to record their debut album. The album was recorded at Abyss Studios
with producer Tommy Tägtgren, with guest vocals by Peter Tägtgren
(of Hypocrisy
and Bloodbath
) and Marcel Schirmer
(of Destruction
).
The album, entitled Kindless
was released through Raven Music and Listenable Records in August 2002 to positive reviews from such famed magazines as Metal Hammer
and Rock Hard
. Following the release of the album, the band performed a series of headlining shows around Israel, as well as opening for such international acts as Destruction
, Megadeth
, Dismember
, Behemoth
, Rotting Christ
and more. In 2003, bassist Gil Ben-Ya'akov of Breorn has joined the band to fill in the bass position which was vacant since the band's formation.
, though not long after, singer, guitarist and founding members Eyal Glottman has left the band, taking with him all of the material he has written for the album. Not long after, drummer Eran Asias has also left the band. Drummer Roy Chen of Breorn was recruited to complete the recording of the material.
In 2005, the band recorded an EP entitled Deeds of Hate which was planned for release in only 1000 copies, before the band decided not to release it. It was the only release to be recorded with the second line-up as it didn't last longer after that. Later in 2005, the band was joined by singer Oren Balbus, Matricide guitarist Auria Sapir and Abed drummer Dror Goldstein. With that line-up, the band recorded a cover of At the Gates
' song "Blinded by Fear" for an At the Gates tribute album. Following more line-up changes, the band recorded another EP, entitled Numb, which was also left unreleased. It was later revealed that Deeds of Hate and Numb were the same EP which was recorded twice, but the band was not satisfied with the material and the recording at both times.
The band performed its last show in 2006, before deciding to cease work on the new album and going on a hiatus, following line-up changes that got in the way of the album's recording. Following the hiatus, guitarist and founding member Dory Bar-Or moved to Germany to concentrate on his musical career, while writing new material for the album and returning to Israel once in a few months to share the new material with the other band members and rehearse. Eventually, until 2007, the band had finished writing all the material for the album and decided to record it.
to record their second album, Your Gods, My Enemies
, from the beginning. This time, they recorded the album with producer Pelle Seather at the Studio Underground.
In May 2009, mastering for the album was finished by Göran Finnberg, who previously worked with Opeth
and Soilwork
, and the band announced that the album is finished and that they are getting ready for a special release show for the album in the following months. They also announced that they are keeping the first working title for the album from 2004, Your Gods, My Enemies, as the album's official title.
On January 7, 2010, the band had its comeback show, the band's first show in 3 years. The band debuted new material from the upcoming album and announced that the album will be released in a special release show in a few months.
On December 31, 2010, the band's long-awaited second studio album Your Gods, My Enemies was finally released in a small capacity on a special limited edition USB disk on key, featuring the 9 new songs from the album, with additional bonus material such as demos, lyrics, photo galleries and more exclusive content. The band has announced plans to release the album on CD in Israel and worldwide in 2011, as well as a supporting European tour in late 2011.
On March 24, 2011, the band performed as a supporting act to Meshuggah
on their only show in Israel at the Barby club in Tel Aviv
.
On May 17, 2011, it was announced that Eternal Gray has signed with the French extreme metal
label Season of Mist
to release their latest album Your Gods, My Enemies worldwide, in a CD format, in the fall of 2011. The album was previously released only in Israel in a limited edition disk on key format.
On July 20, 2011, Season of Mist has announced that the band's second album Your Gods, My Enemies
will be officially released through the label on October 14, 2011 in Europe and October 18, 2011 in North America, in a normal CD format as opposed to the previously released disk on key format available only in Israel.
On August 26, 2011, the band was set to perform, along with other Israeli bands Phantom Pain and Spawn of Evil, as a supporting act to Vader
on their only Israeli show at the Sublime club in Tel Aviv
. On July 28, 2011, it was announced that the concert would be postponed to an unknown date following logistical problems and poor ticket sales.
On September 20, 2011, the song "Lost Control" was released for free listening and download from Season of Mist
's official website. On the same day, the label also released a video teaser for the upcoming album.
with:
Technical death metal
Technical death metal is a musical subgenre of death metal that focuses on complex rhythms, riffs and song structures. Technical experimentation in death metal began in the late '80s and early '90s by bands such as Death, Atheist and Cynic...
band originating from Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. The band is known as one of the most respected bands in the Israeli heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
scene, and has gathered a very positive feedback abroad.
Formation and Kindless (2001–2003)
The band was formed in late 2001, by Eyal Glottman (guitars, vocals), Dory Bar-Or (guitars, bass, keyboards) and Eran Asias (drums, percussion), describing themselves as a "dark death metalDeath metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
" band.
In 2002, the band flew to Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
to record their debut album. The album was recorded at Abyss Studios
The Abyss (recording studio)
The Abyss is a recording studio in Pärlby outside Ludvika, Sweden. It is owned and operated by record producer and musician Peter Tägtgren.-Recordings:...
with producer Tommy Tägtgren, with guest vocals by Peter Tägtgren
Peter Tägtgren
Alf Peter Tägtgren is a Swedish musician and producer. He is the founder, main songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist of the death metal band Hypocrisy as well as the industrial metal band PAIN in which he is the only member....
(of Hypocrisy
Hypocrisy (band)
Hypocrisy is a melodic death metal band from Sweden. It was formed in 1990 in Ludvika, Sweden by Peter Tägtgren.Musically, the band started off with a traditional death metal sound on their first albums, and soon drifted to become a melodic death metal band. The lyrics in their early stages -...
and Bloodbath
Bloodbath
Bloodbath is a Swedish death metal supergroup from Stockholm formed in 1998.-History:A year after being formed, the band, then consisting of Mikael Åkerfeldt on vocals, Dan Swanö on drums, Anders "Blakkheim" Nyström on guitar, and Jonas Renkse on bass, released their EP Breeding...
) and Marcel Schirmer
Marcel Schirmer
Marcel Schirmer, born on December 22, 1966, is a German heavy metal musician. Commonly known as Schmier, he is the founding bassist and vocalist of the thrash metal band Destruction. He left Destruction in 1989 to form Headhunter and reunited with them in 1999. Schmier owned a pizzeria named...
(of Destruction
Destruction (band)
Destruction is a German thrash metal band. They are considered one of the "three kings" of the Teutonic thrash metal scene, the others being Kreator and Sodom...
).
The album, entitled Kindless
Kindless
Kindless is the debut album by Israeli technical death metal band Eternal Gray, released through Listenable Records on December 6, 2002....
was released through Raven Music and Listenable Records in August 2002 to positive reviews from such famed magazines as Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer is a monthly heavy metal music magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and in several other countries by different publishers. Metal Hammer articles feature both mainstream bands and more unusual acts from the whole spectrum of heavy metal music...
and Rock Hard
Rock Hard (magazine)
Rock Hard is a heavy metal magazine originally released in Germany. It was founded in 1983 by Holger Stratmann and is dedicated to all styles of rock and heavy metal. The magazine has independent offspring with the same name in France, Greece, Italy and Spain....
. Following the release of the album, the band performed a series of headlining shows around Israel, as well as opening for such international acts as Destruction
Destruction (band)
Destruction is a German thrash metal band. They are considered one of the "three kings" of the Teutonic thrash metal scene, the others being Kreator and Sodom...
, Megadeth
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
, Dismember
Dismember (band)
Dismember was a Swedish death metal band that formed in 1988. They are well known in the death metal underground. They split up in October 2011.-History:...
, Behemoth
Behemoth (band)
Behemoth is a Polish blackened death metal band from Gdańsk, formed in 1991. They are considered to have played an important role in establishing the Polish extreme metal underground, alongside bands such as Vader, Decapitated, Vesania and Hate....
, Rotting Christ
Rotting Christ
Rotting Christ is a Greek black metal band formed in 1987. They are noted for being one of the first black metal bands within this region, as well as a premier act within the European underground metal scene.- Line-up :...
and more. In 2003, bassist Gil Ben-Ya'akov of Breorn has joined the band to fill in the bass position which was vacant since the band's formation.
Line-up changes, Deeds of Hate and Numb EPs and hiatus (2004–2007)
In 2004, the band entered the studio once again to work on new material for their second studio album - Your Gods, My EnemiesYour Gods, My Enemies
-Personnel:Eternal Gray*Oren Balbus - lead vocals*Dory Bar-Or - guitars, keyboards*Auria Sapir - guitars*Gil Ben-Ya'akov - bass*Dror Goldstein - drums, percussion -Release history:...
, though not long after, singer, guitarist and founding members Eyal Glottman has left the band, taking with him all of the material he has written for the album. Not long after, drummer Eran Asias has also left the band. Drummer Roy Chen of Breorn was recruited to complete the recording of the material.
In 2005, the band recorded an EP entitled Deeds of Hate which was planned for release in only 1000 copies, before the band decided not to release it. It was the only release to be recorded with the second line-up as it didn't last longer after that. Later in 2005, the band was joined by singer Oren Balbus, Matricide guitarist Auria Sapir and Abed drummer Dror Goldstein. With that line-up, the band recorded a cover of At the Gates
At the Gates
At the Gates is an extreme metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden, and a major progenitor of the Gothenburg death-metal sound. Their early albums lean towards a death metal sound, but later albums sound more like melodic death metal.Initially active from 1990 to 1996, the band reformed in 2007 for a...
' song "Blinded by Fear" for an At the Gates tribute album. Following more line-up changes, the band recorded another EP, entitled Numb, which was also left unreleased. It was later revealed that Deeds of Hate and Numb were the same EP which was recorded twice, but the band was not satisfied with the material and the recording at both times.
The band performed its last show in 2006, before deciding to cease work on the new album and going on a hiatus, following line-up changes that got in the way of the album's recording. Following the hiatus, guitarist and founding member Dory Bar-Or moved to Germany to concentrate on his musical career, while writing new material for the album and returning to Israel once in a few months to share the new material with the other band members and rehearse. Eventually, until 2007, the band had finished writing all the material for the album and decided to record it.
Your Gods, My Enemies (2007–present)
In March 2007, the band flew again to SwedenSweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
to record their second album, Your Gods, My Enemies
Your Gods, My Enemies
-Personnel:Eternal Gray*Oren Balbus - lead vocals*Dory Bar-Or - guitars, keyboards*Auria Sapir - guitars*Gil Ben-Ya'akov - bass*Dror Goldstein - drums, percussion -Release history:...
, from the beginning. This time, they recorded the album with producer Pelle Seather at the Studio Underground.
In May 2009, mastering for the album was finished by Göran Finnberg, who previously worked with Opeth
Opeth
Opeth is a Swedish heavy metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990. Though the group has been through several personnel changes, singer, guitarist, and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt has remained Opeth's driving force throughout the years...
and Soilwork
Soilwork
Soilwork is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Helsingborg. They are currently signed to Nuclear Blast. Formed in late 1995 by Björn Strid and Peter Wichers, originally under the name Inferior Breed, the band changed their name in late 1996 to Soilwork .Their sound is a fusion of the classic...
, and the band announced that the album is finished and that they are getting ready for a special release show for the album in the following months. They also announced that they are keeping the first working title for the album from 2004, Your Gods, My Enemies, as the album's official title.
On January 7, 2010, the band had its comeback show, the band's first show in 3 years. The band debuted new material from the upcoming album and announced that the album will be released in a special release show in a few months.
On December 31, 2010, the band's long-awaited second studio album Your Gods, My Enemies was finally released in a small capacity on a special limited edition USB disk on key, featuring the 9 new songs from the album, with additional bonus material such as demos, lyrics, photo galleries and more exclusive content. The band has announced plans to release the album on CD in Israel and worldwide in 2011, as well as a supporting European tour in late 2011.
On March 24, 2011, the band performed as a supporting act to Meshuggah
Meshuggah
Meshuggah is an extreme metal band from Umeå, Sweden, formed in 1987. Meshuggah's line-up has primarily consisted of founding members vocalist Jens Kidman and lead guitarist Fredrik Thordendal, drummer Tomas Haake, who joined in 1990, and rhythm guitarist Mårten Hagström, who joined in 1992...
on their only show in Israel at the Barby club in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
.
On May 17, 2011, it was announced that Eternal Gray has signed with the French extreme metal
Extreme metal
Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. The term usually refers to a more abrasive, harsher, underground, non-commercialized style or sound nearly always associated with genres like black metal,...
label Season of Mist
Season of Mist
Season of Mist is a record label and record distributor with subsidiaries in France and the United States. The record label was founded in 1996 by Michael S. Berberian in Marseille, France. From the start releasing black metal, pagan metal and death metal records, the label moved on to releasing...
to release their latest album Your Gods, My Enemies worldwide, in a CD format, in the fall of 2011. The album was previously released only in Israel in a limited edition disk on key format.
On July 20, 2011, Season of Mist has announced that the band's second album Your Gods, My Enemies
Your Gods, My Enemies
-Personnel:Eternal Gray*Oren Balbus - lead vocals*Dory Bar-Or - guitars, keyboards*Auria Sapir - guitars*Gil Ben-Ya'akov - bass*Dror Goldstein - drums, percussion -Release history:...
will be officially released through the label on October 14, 2011 in Europe and October 18, 2011 in North America, in a normal CD format as opposed to the previously released disk on key format available only in Israel.
On August 26, 2011, the band was set to perform, along with other Israeli bands Phantom Pain and Spawn of Evil, as a supporting act to Vader
Vader (band)
Vader is a Polish death metal band from Olsztyn, formed in 1983. According to Piotr Wiwczarek, the band's founding singer and guitar player, the band's name was inspired by Darth Vader from the Star Wars film series. Lyrical themes include stories by H. P. Lovecraft, WW2, horror and anti-christian...
on their only Israeli show at the Sublime club in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
. On July 28, 2011, it was announced that the concert would be postponed to an unknown date following logistical problems and poor ticket sales.
On September 20, 2011, the song "Lost Control" was released for free listening and download from Season of Mist
Season of Mist
Season of Mist is a record label and record distributor with subsidiaries in France and the United States. The record label was founded in 1996 by Michael S. Berberian in Marseille, France. From the start releasing black metal, pagan metal and death metal records, the label moved on to releasing...
's official website. On the same day, the label also released a video teaser for the upcoming album.
Current members
- Oren Balbus - lead vocals (2005–present)
- Dory Bar-Or - guitar, keyboards (2001–present), bass (2001–2003)
- Auria Sapir - guitar (2005–present)
- Gil Ben-Ya'akov - bass (2003–present)
with:
- Dror Goldstein - drums, percussion (2006–2011)
Former members
- Eyal Glottman - lead vocals, guitar (2001–2005)
- Eran Asias - drums, percussion (2001–2004)
- Roy Chen - drums, percussion (2004–2005)